Jad Vein
Jad knew what was going to come next, he knew what it meant for the future of the south. Jynx had fallen, burned to the ground by his brother, to set an example no doubt. Afterwards Jad had flown to Willia, who were more than happy to surrender. Now all that was left was Brailent, and whilst they had a expansive army, they were no match for two golden dragons.
Kai was meeting with them now, and Jad knew they would bend, fold under the pressure of combined might of the deep south. That or they would burn, that was made clear in Jynx, Jad shuddered at the thought.
Jad had fought people before, even taken lives before, though he was thirteen, still a boy by every right, he had been dispatched with his brother to fight bandits, and other evil men who took advantage of the defenseless. Yet even that had not compared to what his brother had done at Jynx, thousands burned, and the same would happen at Phelia if Kai got his way.
The Bales were proud men, and their domain had once encompassed Phelia, but it had been stolen from them, or so they claimed. The Brailent army was large enough that they could have easily won it back at any time. Yet that was what Kai was offering them, Phelia for their allegiance, it made not since to Jad, but Kai’s schemes never failed.
In a few months’ time the entire south would be united, and then the actual challenge would begin. The east was first, the great realm of the Black Dragons, then the Red Dragons to the west, and all the other dragons further north than that. All until the great mountains in the north, where no army could invade, Jad was willing to wager Kai would try it though, like so many of their ancestors before them.
Jad walked through the castle of Willia, passing men would bow, though reluctantly, and the serving women ignored him completely, as was the way in Willia. Working women did not need to bow, and men feared a change in power.
Jad entered the meeting room, the large circular table spread out, three other men were seated, though no sound was being made from them. Jad sat at the end of the table, away from everyone else, as was his way. They were waiting now, Kai would arrive shortly, Lord Regis Far would be joining him, to tell them of what was discussed.
The men, and women at the table were silent, Lucia Jynx, the next lady in line for the leadership of Jynx sat with her lips pursed. The same could be said for the other two, old men who had come to advise the emperor. Jad couldn’t blame them for their hatred over his brother, thousands had died in Jynx, and thousands more would die before his expansion was finished.
Jad didn’t know how he felt about the conquest, in fact every time he asked himself the question he was at a loss. His whole life he was told about the grand Gold Dragon Empire, and now that it was happening, all Jad could focus on was the death.
So deep in thought was Jad, that he didn’t notice his brother, and Regis enter until Kai slammed something on the table with a triumphant smile. “Lord Bale has pledged his allegiance to the Gold Dragon Emperor” He said with a bright smile.
Silence followed his statement, followed by clapping from those around the table. Though the faces of those from Jynx were anything but pleased. “How?” Jad said, voicing his thoughts, if Kai was offended, he didn’t show it. “Through various means, two things in particular, one Phelia belongs to the Bale’s the family residing over it shall be put out of power” Kai said, Jad nodded.
“That can’t be all” Jad said furrowing his brow, Kai’s cruel smile grew larger, Jad suddenly felt as though he would not like what was promised to the Bales. “Our dear sister’s hand in marriage, to lord Varan Bale’s eldest son, once she returns to us that is” Kai said triumphantly.
Jad stared at him, he was intending to give the hand of a dragon without her permission, it was normal for Lords to marry off their daughters, or even sisters. Never though was a dragon to be sold like a common noble, if their father had heard Kai say that he would have beaten the man.
“She will never go for that” Jad started to protest, when Kai snapped “the traitorous wench won’t have a choice” he said angrily. “I will one day rule over the continent, and she will not inhibit my plans any further”.
Jad felt his own temper rise at that, and he felt the heat in his eyes, he knew that his golden eyes were glowing, as Kai’s eyes were as well. Should the two fights, Jad would win, he might be younger, but in Draconic form he was larger, his father often said he would grow larger than any dragon in the last one hundred years. Jad was a better on the wing as well, however the fight that seemed to loom over the table never came, Regis stepped forward speaking in a calm voice.
“Once we have taken the south, the east will be next, and with it our army will grow” he said, stepping next to Kai. “Sacrifices must be made for the good of the world, surely you must see that my prince” Lord Far said staring intently at Jad.
Jad snorted, he was in his anger now, and it would not be due to stay around people who would continue to spark that anger. Jad left the war council room, found the nearest balcony, and jumped off his transformation was swift, and he heard cheering down bellow from the city. Known of the cheering men bellow knew of his vast anger as he flew southward.
John Carathian
John smacked the small boy on the head with the wooden blade, he scowled at the small child. “Pick the practice sword back up boy”. William, who had been disarmed scowled, and picked the blade back up, John made sure not to show any outward reaction, save for his scowl of course.
Two weeks had passed since the two boys had robbed them, and now they rode with them, to the east, back to their homestead. The boy William was a natural with the blade, better than any child John had ever seen fight, he would need it with that ring on his finger.
They began sparring again, William fighting as if he was a young noble who had been born with a sword in hand, even if that sword was made of wood. Yet he was no match for John, in fact John could only think of two men who could match him with the blade. This boy though he would be something, he was a natural, and instead of following the footwork John had shown him he made his own.
The boy almost naturally knew how to move, and in another couple of years, he would be able to hold his own against John, the thought scared him. John had heard of how those of the old houses were naturally gifted, especially the mountain people, but to think they would find one, in Phelia of all places.
John abruptly nocked the boy’s blade off the course of his chest, then fast a flash struck the boy on the head again, careful not to hurt the boy too much. The men had taken a liking to the boys, a rare thing for the harsh men, but the boys were wide eyed, and since John ordered the boys to join them, the men were happy to treat the boys as if they were younger brothers.
It was no wonder, with the distance between them, and their families, Big Lont had taken an interest in the other boy Tom. Even now the man was training the boy in archery, Lont had to be the best archer John had ever met. These two boys would be fierce one day, but today even with his talent, the boy hadn’t landed a single hit on him.
John had been watching the boy Will closely, watching his ring most of all, the way it flashed, or how there were times where the air seemed colder around him. It would be a long while until the boy learned to use his powers efficiently, but it would come instinctually.
Once the boy, and John finished their sparring, the boy Will ran off to find his brother, and John settled down, lighting a pipe he produced from one of the saddle bags that hung off his horse. Lain came over once he had lit his pipe and began humming a tune.
“We should take the boys north” said the giant man, the man was a cousin of Lont, and a good axe man. The man was also huge, six feet tall, with large arms, and a gut to match, he was a fierce warrior. Lont had a braid of long black hair, like his smaller cousin, and a huge black beard, unlike his cousin. “One of them northern kingdoms would pay a pretty price for the heads of one of ancient blood”, Lain said casually, taking a seat on a log next to John.
“Not as much as the trip would cost us to make” John said snorting, if someone tried to pass the mountains without a guide or prior knowledge of those mountains, then they would take twice as long to get to where they intended if they ever did.
John of course knew the way through the mountains but Lain didn’t need to know that. Lain nodded, and sighed, “the kids will be more trouble than their worth” he said with a heavy sigh, “especially the noble runt, the emperor won’t take kindly to potential kings rising up against him” Lain continued, pulling out his axe from his belt, and sharpening it whilst he spoke.
“The boy is no noble, he has the blood, but that blood is tainted by being in the streets” John said, taking a puff on his pipe. “We can train the boy, have him join us, and the other Lost, we need all the men we can get” John said trying to convince the other man.
Lain was a large man, and many mistook him as a fool, Lain was however one of the smartest strategists John knew. “Besides, I’m the one taking the two in” John said, deliberately casual, Lain’s head shot up, and stared at the man. John could feel his surprise emanating off him, “are you sure John?” he said after a second, John nodded.
Lain sighed heavily, “well it will be good for Laura, and Lant to have friends their own age” he said after a second. “If any of those boys gets handsy with my girl though” Lain started but was cut off by a chuckle John made.
The conversation took a darker turn then, “Phelia is gone, Brailent is gone” the man said with a dark tone. “Where do we go find work next, we have a village to feed John” Lain said looking up from his axe with a hard expression. “A village and two mouths it seems” John said with a half-smile, though it did little to ease the tension.
“This gold dragon will unite the south, but it will take years to march on the east, we should not have to worry about it anytime soon” John said, but he knew eventually that damn dragon spawn would be a problem. Lain wanted to speak more on it, but John had no taste for such talk, he said as much, and then left for his tent.
The Lost was his family, and he would protect them, but time was on their side for once it seemed. Soon the Black dragons, would be warring with the Gold ones, and The Lost would wait to bide their time, and planning, no war had stopped them, and no war would.
Thomas Grey
That night the fire burned, and whilst it provided plenty of light, Tom found he was reading better without the flickering light casting shadows across the page. It had been the ring that changed his eyes, he could see clearly in the dark, even without any light whatsoever, and he could see farther now.
Though even with these gifts he was struggling to shoot his bow, Lont claimed it was normal, but Tom knew he was doing worse than most would. That was always how it was with him, he had tried to learn to sword fight, but he wasn’t that good with a sword either.
The thought brought a sigh to his lips, he should be happy, this was the first time since the orphanage, that Will and Tom had consistent meals. The men had allowed the boys to join them, saying that since the rings would not come off, they would have to earn them. These men, The Lost, they called themselves were different than most.
Majority of men Tom, and Will came across were more likely to give them a kick to the side rather than a meal. These men had insisted they eat with them, train with them, and bathe with them, Will didn’t trust the men, and had initially wanted to escape.
Tom had talked him out of doing that, they needed a break from the streets, and they were teaching them to fight, defend themselves. The big man Lain, though he had protested to taking he two in, had even shown Tom how he was cooking the meals.
Even Will, who struggled to trust anyone, enjoyed the sword practice, he never admitted it, but Will loved fighting, he always had. It wasn’t like they had to leave either Phelia was taken mostly peacefully, the family in charge of the city had been put to death, but the Grey boys felt no loyalty to those.
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Tom was with these men for another reason, though the meals were nice as well, excitement fueled him. It had been years since Tom felt anything other than determination to survive, but now he felt an overwhelming curiosity to discover what lay in the other cities around the world.
The Lost claimed they were heading to a village, and in the village, they would be given better clothes, and training. The older man had told them that they would need to join The Lost until their debt was paid, and Tom didn’t see an issue with it.
Whilst Tom himself would not be much of a boon for the mercenary group, he noticed how the others stared at awe at Will’s sword practice. Will always picked things up easily, except for when he learned to read as a boy. Tom had no doubt that if Will kept up his sword practice, he would one day be one of the best swordsmen on the continent.
There was a concern Tom had though, yet he had yet to address it yet, but the blue ring on Will’s hand had yet to change him. There were time’s Tom got chills from being around his brother, but other than that nothing had changed. That scared him more than he would like to admit, but the fear was pushed down, ignored.
The book Tom was reading was one of ancient warriors that were in service to the old Gold Dragon Empire. Men who fought the savage mountain men, and pirates that came from across the sea to plunder villages of the east. A vast majority of the fairy tales were unbelievable, but Tom hadn’t had an actual book in a long time.
When the skinny archer had pulled it out, it was all Tom could handle not to snatch the book and run away. The archer must have noticed, because he smiled, and handed him the book, silently, the archer never spoke. Gil however, a smaller man, who was excellent at making repairs to the men’s weapons, and the wagons talked too much. Gil had sharp features, and brown hair, and always seemed to always have the stubble of morning about him.
Will came over after grabbing two bowls of the newly finished stew, Lain had given them to him without a word. Having already made the bowls before the boy had come over. Lain was smart like that Tom had noticed, he guessed what people would do before they did it. Will sat Tom’s bowl in front of him, then sat next to the boy in the dark, and began eating.
Tom set his book down, and followed suit, they finished fast, but did not rise for more. One bowl for all the men, the portions were large, but everyone only got one. One bowl however was enough to fill Tom, and Will, after that Tom picked up his book, and Will played with his knife.
Only after Tom finished another one of the ludicrous tales that he had been reading that he spoke. “How is your sword practice going?” he said looking up from the book, he saw Will squinting to look at him in the dark. Something that Tom himself would never have to do again, Will spoke anyways despite his struggle to see.
“Not so well, I can’t land a single hit on the old man” he said with a scowl, however his eyes still squinted which made him look childish in the attempt. Tom couldn’t help but smile, he was glad that Will couldn’t see too well, “well you’ll get it, Lain said you’re learning fast”.
Will’s comical scowl deepened, “John said I move like a dying turtle” he said angrily. Tom tried to hold it in, but he couldn’t he gave a laugh, then laughed some more when he saw Will’s cheeks darken with embarrassment.
Some of the men in the fire looked up at the two boys, only Lont’s eyes found them clearly though, he had a black ring of his own after all. “Sorry” Tom said after his laughter died down, “it’s not your fault, the men talk about the old man, as if he is the greatest warrior to ever live” Tom said trying to make his brother feel better.
Will clearly was ready for a change in the topic of conversation, “I heard we head for the eastern coast”, he said after a sullen moment of silence. Tom allowed the topic to change, “I heard that too, I wonder if we will pass through any other cities” he said his smile never leaving.
Will’s own smile appeared on his face, “I if we will get to see the ocean” he said with excitement clear in his voice. “If we continue to travel along this path, the map said we will walk along a cliff overlooking the ocean” Tom said excitedly.
They were about to go on when they heard Lain say, “stop right there, and state your business”, causing both boys to whip around to the fire. Tom saw five men approach the camp stop, to answer the voice, “we come to join the Dragon, we were wondering if we might share your fire” a high-pitched voice rang out.
The group had five men, though there was a bit of movements by the men’s wagons that caught his eye, in the wagon there was movement. Lain though about it for a second, looked to John who nodded before he agreed, the men walked up, and set at the opposite end of the fire.
One of the men was a large fellow though nowhere near the size of Lain he had muscle to him, and towered over Tom, and Will. The other three men looked exactly like one would expect road wary travelers to look, however they word bandages as if they had been in a fight. The leader of the group bore no such bandages, he was a skinny man with dark sunken eyes, that seemed to gleam maliciously in the light of the fire.
Tom saw the movement in the wagon again, and looked back towards them, something was in those wagons. Tom turned to tell will about what he saw, but the boy was gone, already walking towards the fire, he took a seat close to John. Tom rolled his eyes at his brother, he clearly wanted to seem brave, but he betrayed his distrust of the men by sitting next to the best fire in the camp.
There was a shake of the wagon once again, catching Tom’s eye, and his curiosity. Tom creeped up, and through the darkness, knowing that the men would not see him if he stayed out of the light of the fire. The skinny man in charge said something to Will, which caused a laugh from his friends, and a growl from Lain. Tom ignored it continuing towards the wagon.
“What am I doing”, Tom thought to himself as he approached the wagon, “since when I started behaving like Will” he continued berating himself in his own head. Yet he did not stop until he was at the wagon, and he peaked under the tarp that covered the back of the wagon.
Tom gasped, inside was a girl, slightly younger than Tom, with dark hair, struggling to get free, next to the girl was a dog, it wasn’t moving. Tom looked in shock at the girl, who stared back at him with surprisingly green eyes. Tom looked back up at the fire, the men still stayed eating, Tom moved silently, pulling his own dull knife from his belt, he cut the girl free of her bonds.
Once he had cut the bonds completely, he helped the girl out of the cart, luckily the girl seemed to know that she needed to be quiet. However, once they had gotten out of the car she grabbed his arm, “the dog” she said in an urgent whisper. “What” Tom said back as quietly as he could, the girl got closer to his ear.
“We have to grab the dog” she said, Tom wanted to call her crazy, but instead he got in, and lifted the grey dog up. Tom thought the dog had been dead, but to his surprise he felt the animal breath smoothly, and climbed out of the wagon, and as silently as he could walked back to camp.
When the girl saw the men around the fire, she stopped, and only through insistent prodding form Tom did she begin to move once again. Once Tom got her behind a wagon, he was able to speak to her, the girl was filthy, and looked like she hadn’t eaten in a long time.
“What happened, did those men?” Tom said with still whispering, despite being a distance away from the campfire. “They attacked my farm, killed my parents” she said, though she said it mournfully, she did not cry, from the dirt stains on her cheek she had recently.
“The dog?” he asked, looking at the animal where it was on the ground. “They stole him from our family, fed him something” she said looking at the dog anxiously. Tom nodded, he didn’t know what to do, but he knew he had to tell John. “Wait here, I’ll have the men run those five off” he said turning around without waiting for a response, he felt her hand grab his arm. “Don’t leave, they’ll kill you” she said, in worried tone.
Tom doubted it, but he waited to calm her down, but before he could leave again, he heard a yell. Tom turned to look, on of the men had gone to the wagon to check the back, they knew.
William Grey
The greasy men sat across from the fire, none of them said anything at first, until the small man looked at Will, and his knife. “I see we are among fierce warriors here, how many rats have you killed with that blade boy” the man said with a black toothed smile. The man only had three teeth, and in the dark they looked as black as night and made William sick if he looks directly at them.
The men with him all gave a laugh, Will felt his cheeks heat up, he was going to speak up when Lain rumbled. “You may share our fire, but you will not speak to the boy” Lain said in his rumbling deep voice, it was a strong voice, and it ended all discussion.
Will had thought the man disliked him, and Tom, yet he had never said anything to them, he was opposed to bringing the two with them. Will felt a new appreciation for the man he had known for two weeks now. The skinny man however just snickered, “just messing with hims is all” the man said his three teeth seeming to make the small man more sinister.
The men all sat in silence after that, the five produced their own food, whilst The Lost all ate from their bowls. Will snuck glances at John who was cleaning his sword, something he often did, and noticed he did not look up at the men once.
Will tried to copy the older man, however he kept sneaking glances at the men, while he cleaned his own filthy knife. At some point he caught Lain’s eyes who smiled when he noticed at Will was doing, Will felt his cheeks start to heat.
One of the men stood up, and walked back towards the wagon, when Lain asked what he was doing all he said was, “making sure nothing fell out along the way”. It was only a couple minutes after the man had left, that a yell sounded out from the deep darkness around the camp.
The man rushed back into camp, his face red and furious, “the welp is gone” the man said with a growling tone. The other men all rushed to their feet, which made the whole camp seem to tense. Lain stood and asked, “what is it your missing?” the big man asked.
Ugly teeth was the one who responded, “we had valuable cargo that seems to have gone missing”, he said with a scowl on his ugly face. The bigger one of the groups looked at William with hateful eyes, “did you have something to do with this boy, think you can steal yourself a wife” he said stepping forward.
It almost happened to quick for Will to realize, but all the men had drawn their swords, Lain held an axe, he had pulled from his belt. Even John stopped sharpening his blade, it was the skinny man who spoke this time, though the large man never took his eyes off Will.
“Lets all calm down” he said holding his hands up towards the armed men, John spoke the men for the first time that night. John spoke in a soft tone, but it could be heard over that tense silence that settled into the night, and the tone carried clear authority. “You have threatened a member of my camp, leave or die” the older man said staring at the skinny man. It was the larger man who answered again, however with less anger this time, the other three were already inching towards the wagons.
“Allow us to find our goods first” he said with a hint of almost desperation in his voice. “Leave” Lain replied in a hard tone, after a couple more seconds, the men realized they had lost. The camp remained tense until the sound of the wagon could not long be heard.
Tom came into the light then, with a giant black hound, and a girl. Tom didn’t take long to explain how he had seen the wagon shake, and he found the girl, and the dog. “Slavers” Gil said spitting on the ground, “we should chase them down, make sure they can’t harm anyone ever again” he said heatedly. John ignored him, “that’s a forest hound pup” he said, bringing a gasp from the camp, Will looked up in confusion.
“What’s a forest hound” he asked the older man, it was Gil who answered, “hounds that are good at hunting, bigger than any mastiff, and loyal too” he said happy to speak now that the men were gone. “Aye, this was the real prize, a dog like this would be worth a fortune, especially if sold to a lord in the Gold army” Lain said rubbing his long black beard.
“We could sell it for a pretty penny” said Gil once again, looking almost hungrily at the sleeping hound. “No, it’s too late to sell, we don’t have anything to keep It sleeping, and once it wakes it will bond” John said staring at the dog.
“Then one of us should claim it right” said one of the men from the group, John rubbed his small grey beard that had since grown since Phelia. “It should go to the Elaine” Tom said to the group, all eyes turned to him, he blushed, and added, “that’s her name”.
Will himself was studying the dog, it was the size of any full-grown dog he had ever seen, and still a pup. Will found himself wondering how big the dog will be once he was full grown. He was so deep in thought about it that he didn’t hear the girl speak at first, but he heard Lain’s reply. “Are you sure girl” the man said in his deep voice, Will looked up to see what was to happen.
“Very well” John said, and rare smiling gracing his face, “the dog is yours Thomas, once he wakes you will be the one to feed him, marking you as his new owner.”
Claus
The squad marched east of Phelia, to the villages in the southern fields, there were no castles out here, only villages, and farms. The goal was to have all the villages submit to the new emperor, and to do so with soldiers present, to show the power of the Gold Army.
So, on the men rode, Claus heard his horse whine, though he did not stop, Claus would soon be too old to be ab army man. Clause was in his forty sixth year of life, and he had been in the Farlan army for a vast majority of it. Though this was around the first he had been in war, he had fought at Jynx, if you could all it that, they killed whoever put up a resistance, he had killed three that day.
Claus had killed before, bandits, brigands, rebels, never had he killed like that before. One was a woman who had been half melted in the fire that encased the city, she charged them with an old sword, in the smoke he couldn’t see her clearly. Claus cut her down swiftly, when the smoke cleared to show her face, he had thrown up.
Claus was relieved when the next three cities surrendered after that, and even more relieved to head west, down to the peaceful southern fields. Claus felt his red colored chainmail armor heat in the hot southern sun, making him sweat. War was young man’s game, and he wanted to retire soon, however he didn’t have anything to retire too. No wife, no kids, no home, he had been an army man, and he had moved up through the ranks.
Captain Claus, no surname, as was common in the south, nor did he decide to name himself, his father had no surname, why should he. Claus’s men respected him, and they followed him, even into the fiery hell of Jynx, and now he had earned them a reprieve. This would be a peaceful march, he was certain of that, he took a deep breath, feeling the fresh summer air enter through his mouth, and into his lungs.
The men walked for another hour, before the village was in sight, another hour after that they were coming upon it. Only five minutes later did the men start to get nervous, the village was quiet, too quiet, no smoke rose from the chimneys.
No dogs, no kids, nothing, nervousness touched the men as they entered the village. They noticed the marks right away, on all the doors were the marks of a white goat, surrounded by grey. The marks of the Casten’s, the leadership of Phelia, had they attacked the village? “They have no army to attack with” Claus thought to himself, as he drew, he sword.
“Check the buildings” he called to his men, who obeyed without hesitation, he looked around the village on guard. The leading family of Phelia had all been put to death, or so he had been told, but this empty village spoke to the contrary.
Claus’s men did not take long before they found something, they brought two corpses out, both wearing red, with a gold dragons head on the armor. The same armor that the soldiers themselves wore, they must have killed them in a flight from Phelia, but where were the villagers.
Claus ordered two of his best men to ride back, and inform the commanders of this, it seemed there was still some Phelian resistance in the west. Then he ordered he men to make camp, tomorrow they went hunting, Clause sighed as he dismounted, it seemed retirement was still a ways off.